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Libby Drew talks The Lost Year ~ Excerpt

Guest Post:

Devon cranked the thermostat to seventy degrees and laid his waterlogged jacket over the back of the desk chair. “I left my number with that kid. Wes.”

Nicholas froze, T-shirt half over his head, then finished peeling the wet fabric away from his skin. “Why?”

Devon frowned at his too-thin frame, for once not feeling the slightest tug of lust. Fingertips red with cold, Nicholas fumbled with his wet shoelaces before giving up and toeing the sneakers off. Shivering, he turned to dig through his bag. They were both colder than they’d let on. Devon shrugged, shedding his own damp shirt and shouldering into a dry one. “Just a hunch. I don’t know. Maybe it’ll end in nothing, but I thought it was worth a try.”

“I should’ve thought of that.” Distracted and unselfconscious, Nicholas pulled his wet jeans down and off, leaving them in a pile with the rest of his damp clothes. This time, Devon did turn away, fumbling with the television remote.

Nicholas appeared at his side, clothed, though not modestly, threadbare black briefs clinging to his hips. They’d blown through a dozen levels of familiarity in seven days. In a twisted way, Devon found it comforting. He held the remote out, but Nicholas shook his head. “Do you mind if I just go to sleep?”

“Do whatever you need to do,” Devon replied frankly.

“You can leave that on. It won’t bother me.” He turned the blankets down and sat hunched over, elbows on his knees. “Thank you for everything.”

What had he done? Not as much as he’d wanted. His head pounded with regret and his heart ached for Nicholas’s loss. He wanted to hit someone. Rage at the world. Siphon Nicholas’s pain away and make him smile. Instead, he nodded and flipped through the television channels. “No problem.”

It was all he could manage. Some habits were hard to kill, even when you held the sword in your hand.

Nicholas crawled under the blankets and burrowed in with a sigh. Devon lowered the volume until the radiator drowned out the tinny voices and laugh tracks. After half an hour of mindless sitcoms, his tension eased, rose up and out of his muscles, loosening the tight knot of insomnia. His thoughts slowed and settled. Better. At least the entire night wouldn’t be littered with anxiety dreams. He flicked the power button on the remote, and the room went dark, though a glow from beyond the curtains softened the blackness to deep gray. Nicholas was a shapeless shadow a few feet away. Devon slid down the headboard onto his pillow.

The heater kicked on, a low, soothing hum that soon lulled him into a doze. He was on the edge of sleep, sliding into a dreamlike state, when his blankets began to pull away, slipping down over his chest and stomach. His eyes flew open as he clutched at the sheet. A figure stood over his bed.

Devon squinted. “Nicholas?”

Nicholas held the edge of Devon’s blanket clutched in his fist. Slowly, slowly, he eased it down and off, exposing Devon’s body to the air. He kept their gazes locked, as though he expected a fight.

He wasn’t going to get one.

The Lost Year: Devon McCade is no stranger to adversity. As a photojournalist, he’s seen all manner of human struggle. And as a kid, it’s what brought him to Neverwood, to his foster mother Audrey. It’s what he’s facing now, as he and his foster brothers work to restore the once-stately mansion amidst surprising signs from Audrey herself.

But when another anguished soul arrives at Neverwood, Devon can’t hide behind his camera. Nicholas Hardy is certain he saw his runaway son, Robbie, in a photo Devon took of homeless children. Devon knows all too well that a young teenager on the streets doesn’t have many options—and Robbie has been missing for a full year.

Searching for Robbie with Nicholas stirs memories and passions Devon had thought long lost, yet knowing that Nicholas will leave as soon as Robbie is found keeps him from opening himself up to something permanent. Devon must learn to fight for what he wants to keep—his love, and his home.

Blurb:

Secrets of Neverwood Book Three

Devon McCade is no stranger to adversity. As a photojournalist, he’s seen all manner of human struggle. And as a kid, it’s what brought him to Neverwood, to his foster mother Audrey. It’s what he’s facing now, as he and his foster brothers work to restore the once-stately mansion amidst surprising signs from Audrey herself.

But when another anguished soul arrives at Neverwood, Devon can’t hide behind his camera. Nicholas Hardy is certain he saw his runaway son, Robbie, in a photo Devon took of homeless children. Devon knows all too well that a young teenager on the streets doesn’t have many options–and Robbie has been missing for a full year.

Searching for Robbie with Nicholas stirs memories and passions Devon had thought long lost, yet knowing that Nicholas will leave as soon as Robbie is found keeps him from opening himself up to something permanent. Devon must learn to fight for what he wants to keep–his love, and his home.

Three foster brothers are called home to Neverwood, the stately Pacific Northwest mansion of their youth. They have nothing in common but a promise to Audrey, the woman they all called mother…
Secrets of Neverwood is a multi-author trilogy; One Door Closes, The Growing Season and The Lost Year can be enjoyed either as a continuity or as standalones.

About the Author:

Libby glimpsed her true calling when her first story, an A.A. Milne /Shakespeare crossover, won the grand prize in her elementary school’s fiction contest. Her parents explained that writers were quirky, poor, and often talked to themselves in supermarket checkout lines. They implored her to be practical, a request she took to heart for twenty years, earning two degrees, a white-collar job, and an ulcer, before realizing that practical was absolutely no fun.

Today she lives with her husband and four children in an old, impractical house and writes stories about redemption, the supernatural, and love at first sight, all of which do exist. She happens to know from experience.

Libby’s State of Mind received rave reviews for being fast, clever, and relentless and was nominated for a Bookie Award for Best M/M Novel of 2011. 40 Souls to Keep, Libby’s third novel, has been described as intense and heart-poundingly good and was praised by Publishers Weekly for maintaining a high level of suspense.

An avid supporter of gay rights, Libby donates her time to the Trevor Project and organizations that work to support marriage equality.

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Farewell Giveaway
I have a number of paperbacks, most of which are signed, to giveaway. Over the between now (11 Mar 2017) and 31 Mar 2017, every comment on the blog (this post and all other new posts), will be entered to win 1 of these paperbacks. There are also some misc swag items, so there will be a few packs of these to give away as well.

Thank you so much for your support over the last 4 years. Prism will be closing its doors on 1 April 2017. All content will remain available, but no new content will appear after 31 Mar 2017. As such all request forms have been turned off. Again Thank you,